Losses from the ongoing wildfire season across Canada could reach into the billions of USD, according to a new report from Aon.
As per Aon’s weekly cat report released on August 25, more than 1,000 fires were burning in Canada across several provinces and territories.
“Over the past week, parts of the Northwest Territories have been impacted by multiple large fires growing out of control,” Aon’s report explained.
It continued, “Over half of all residents in Canada’s Northwest Territories have been forced to evacuate since August 18.
“Most notably, the entire town of Yellowknife, the largest populated area in these territories with 20,000 people, was also forced to evacuate.”
Meanwhile, Aon said that in British Columbia, more than 300 wildfires had been reported as of August 21. The firm added that the McDougall Creek Fire, the largest and most dangerous of these fires, exploded in size overnight on August 18.
Aon continued, “The following day, a large portion of nearby Kelowna, the 7th largest city in British Columbia, was forced to evacuate due to the approaching fire. Afterward, as many as 50 structures were burned down in western Kelowna.
“While progress has been made on the McDougall Creek Fire, more than 30,000 people across British Columbia have been displaced from their homes.”
As a result of this, Aon noted, “Losses from the ongoing wildfire season across Canada could reach into the billions of USD.”
In related news, DBRS Morningstar recently estimated that the Canadian wildfire-related insured losses in Q3 will amount to between $700 million and $1.5 billion, but will remain manageable for insurers.
The rating agency said that the wildfires have been particularly widespread this year, affecting most Canadian provinces and burning through 14 million hectares of land, “greatly exceeding a typical year.”
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